Brewing Tea Made Easy

Tea is becoming a popular beverage and new tea drinkers are asking for clear, easy instructions on how to brew. For those people who are new to tea or veterans of the fabulous beverage, there are a few simple steps to a perfect cup of tea. The first step to brewing the perfect cup of tea is to heat the teapot before adding tea. To do this, all one needs to do is add boiling water to the teapot and swirl it around to bring it up to temperature. Pour it out and select your favorite tea. Keep in mind that adding boiling water to a cool teapot will immediately cool the hot water and the concept is to maintain the proper steeping temperature.

The second step is selecting either loose leaf tea or tea bags. For those people who choose to use loose leaf tea, a large teapot with a tea strainer is a good place to start. A large teapot is ideal for this type of tea to allow the hot water to circulate and allow the leaves plenty of room to bloom during the steeping process. Tea bags are also suitable for making a perfect cup of tea, but they do not give the tea enough room to move about during the steeping process. Fortunately, many newer teabags are of a pyramid shape alleviating this problem. Regular tea bags routinely use fannings and tea dust to enhance flavor. Also, be sure to move the bag around a few times to circulate the water. Now that you have selected loose leaf tea or tea bags, it is time to mention measuring your tea. Measuring tea is very important to ensuring a pleasant flavor and aroma. The typical rule is to use 1 teaspoon of tea per cup (8 oz.) of water for a perfect cup of tea. If you are brewing a pot of tea then the ratio is 1 teaspoon per person plus one for the pot. Along the line of measuring water and tea, one needs to pay attention to the temperature of water used. Different teas achieve their best taste when using the optimal water temperature. For example, both green tea and white tea taste best when brewed with steaming water (150°-180°F).

The final step in making the perfect cup of tea is proper steeping times. I will admit it is very easy to over steep tea and produce a cup that is less than pleasing. A general rule of thumb is the heavier the tea, the shorter steeping time. For example, black tea will steep for 2-5 minutes in water at a rolling boil, whereas green and white teas need to steep for 1-4 minutes in steaming water. Herbal teas are steeped for 5-7 minutes in water that is at a rolling boil. Do these ideas inspire you to brew a perfect cup of tea? I do not know about you, but I am ready to get my teapot, strainer, tea, and teacup and enjoy a delicious cup of tea. My favorite tea is Black currant tea manufactured by the English Tea Store. What is your favorite flavor of tea? Please, leave a comment and share. It is always exciting to hear from readers. Enjoy!

For the Thanksgiving season, my favorite black tea with flavor is punmkin spice from the Eastern Tea Company from Baltimore Maryland…My next is another black tea, flavored with vanilla,cherry…I will tell you how good or not sooo good that one is, probably after Christmas…It is soo much fun tea tasting..I love the thought of tea time and the wafers that go with that setting…

I have seen recipes both ways. It depends on how strong you want the mint taste to be and if it is for your personal consumption or to sell or gift to others. A few fresh mint leaves will add a fresher mint flavor to your glass or cup of tea. Dried mint leaves added to your dry tea will steep up minty.

Temperature – White tea and green tea are more delicate, often requiring water temperatures no higher than 180 degrees. Oolong teas are hard to place and I’d consider making two cups one boiling and one at 180 and decide how you should treat that particular oolong. As a general rule though if the Oolong leaves are darker they can often stand a higher temperature. Black teas are said to be boiling but if you have a stubborn Assam, or other black tea feel free to try a temperature around 190 degrees Fahrenheit. As a rule if the tea comes out very bitter or almost sour tasting, try reducing the temperature.

Steep Time – Even within categories different steep times may be needed. Though While whites are delicate they are also resilient in the fact that they can stand longer steep times than even blacks, and sometimes necessary to get flavor from them. But if the tea tastes sharp or rough (especially if it’s a green tea), consider reducing the steep time.